The Mayor's Office Scandal
by Millie
Summary: Chief Johnson finds herself in a tangled web of lies and deciet and when Captain Raydor gets pulled in to the mess they learn they can work together...and what's going on with the Captain?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"When did she go missing?" Brenda Leigh glanced down at the body, splayed out atop a queen sized mattress. Blankets and sheets were pressed up around the young blonde woman whose face was severely beaten. Had she not already known who the victim was, she most definitely wouldn't be able to recognize her as badly beaten as she was now. "Good heavens." She muttered under her breath, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

"She didn't show up to work this morning so her co-host, Tim Freeman, called the cops. She's never missed a day of work in her life, so he found this behavior odd." Lieutenant Tao informed, as he glanced up from his notepad. "He called her in missing at around 9:00 this morning. They finally located her body here in the apartment about noon."

"Who'd want to beat up and kill Lexi Martin?" Brenda pursed her lips, taking in the entire room. She was surveying for any clues, anything at all that would give her some sort of lead in this case. "I loved watchin' her on the mornin' news. Now who am I gonna watch? Tim's so borin' and stiff." She exclaimed, walking around the bed.

"Well, they have that eager new news reporter, Jenna Graham. She's always reporting so thoroughly. I'm pretty sure they had to cut her off a time or two." Lieutenant Flynn mused, as he stepped in to the bedroom.

"Would she want that promotion bad enough to kill for it?" Brenda glanced over her glasses and up at the entering Lieutenant.

"We can certainly bring her in for questioning." Detective Gabriel looked up from his notepad.

"Please do," Brenda nodded. "Were there any signs of forced entry?" She leafed through a pile of what looked like mail, but found nothing more than a few bills and some coupons.

"Not that we can see as of now. None of the electronics have been stolen from the apartment so I'm not sure we could rule this a burglary gone bad." Lieutenant Tao matter-of-factly stated.

"None of the electronics were stolen?" Brenda glanced up again.

"No, Chief." Tao nodded.

"Detective Sanchez," Brenda turned an award winning smile on him, "would you mind locatin' the victim's laptop or computer and perhaps see if you can access anything on it that would be of interest? And Lieutenant Tao," the man looked up at her. "Could you locate the victim's cell phone and see if you can find anything out."

"It's right here," Tao held up the device.

"Perfect. Lietenant Provenza and Lieutenant Flynn, would you mind gettin' Ms. Graham to an interview room."

"Certainly, Chief." Flynn nodded at her and then both he and Provenza left the scene.

"So if this wasn't a burglary, then are we suggestin' this was a planned murder?" Brenda glanced around the room at her team.

"I think we could safely assume that." Sanchez held up the computer. "I'll take this in to the lab and see if I can't get in to it."

"Thank you, Detective."

…

Brenda Leigh stepped out of her Crown Vic, her heels clicking on the cement pavement of the parking garage. Just what she needed today. A major crime, the day she was supposed to go sit down with her lawyer to sign the final papers. She would have to put it off another day. She knew Fritz would be upset with her, but she simply couldn't do it. Not today.

And besides that, it still hurt. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready to let go of everything they'd built together, yet she knew…they both knew it was over.

Her ears perked up as she heard heels clacking behind her. Police training overtook her need to know who was following behind her, and she stealthily glanced behind her, surprised to find a rather disheveled looking Captain Raydor, struggling with her purse and bag.

Stopping in her tracks, Brenda turned to greet the other woman politely, but realized the brunette was fighting back tears. Perhaps she shouldn't have turned around.

"Chief Johnson," Sharon's voice was even; it held no emotion as she quickly caught up to the blonde.

"Afternoon, Capt'n." Brenda nodded, uncertain as to what she should say in this situation. It was obvious the Captain was under distress, but Brenda wasn't sure their slowly blossoming working relationship extended to asking her what was wrong or comforting her. In a strange way, Brenda almost did want to reach out to her on more than a professional level.

"Did you catch a case?" Sharon inquired, obviously trying to detract from her teary eyes.

"We did. LATV 9's anchorwoman went missin' this mornin' and she ended up beaten to death in her apartment." Brenda filled Sharon in as they stepped in to the elevator off of the parking garage. Brenda politely hit FID's floor for Sharon without her asking.

Sharon's eyes widened. "I wondered why she wasn't on the news this morning. I always found her very attractive."

Brenda nodded, then glanced over at the brunette and frowned. "She is attractive, isn't she?" Brenda had never thought about it before, but she did suppose the once living blonde anchorwoman had been very attractive. Not so much in the sorry state Brenda had just seen her in. "Was, I suppose." Brenda glanced down at her hands.

Sharon seemed to open her mouth to ask Brenda something, but then stopped herself. This single motion piqued Brenda's curiosity. She wanted to know what the brunette would ask her. After some internal struggle – or so it seemed –Sharon finally opened her mouth again. "Are you doing all right, and all?" Her voice sounded small, uncharacteristic of the normally confident head of FID.

Brenda nodded. She glanced at her watch and then sighed, "I was supposed to be signin' the papers right now, but this case came up."

"I'm sorry." Sharon's voice was sympathetic.

Brenda looked over at the Captain, a bit surprised by her show of sympathy. Though she supposed it wasn't so surprising. They'd been growing closer over the past few months. Sharon had actually been the first person Brenda had confided in about her divorce. So perhaps this was normal, it was okay. "Thanks," she gave her a wide smile before the elevator dinged open on to FID's floor. She immediately wished she'd asked Sharon about her afternoon – the woman had been visibly upset – but the brunette was already bidding her a good afternoon and making an escape from the elevator. Brenda felt like a coward. She made a mental note to be more attentive next time.

…

"Why am I here?" Jenna Graham, an attractive young twenty-something, with wide brown eyes and dark brown hair, demanded as Brenda stepped in to the interrogation room.

"Just routine questionin'." Brenda moved to sit down next to Detective Gabriel. She let her purse slide off her shoulder and on to the ground while slapping a vanilla folder on to the desk. "Do you know who this is?"

Brenda opened the folder and pulled out a headshot of Lexi. Jenna's eyes went wide. "Of course I know who she is. Is she all right?" Jenna's eyes moved to look directly at Brenda. Confusion was etched in her features. "I know she was missing from taping this morning, but I hadn't heard…is she sick?"

Brenda inwardly frowned. She clearly had no idea. "She was found dead this mornin'." Brenda pulled out a crime scene photo and set it in front of Jenna, who broke down in to tears after taking in the horrific scene before her.

"Oh my…oh my God." Jenna pushed the photo away. "Who did that to her? Who did that?!" Jenna demanded through tears.

"That's what we're tryin' to figure out." Brenda took the picture and placed it back in to the folder.

"Who would do that?" Jenna kept crying, her body rocking back and forth. "Oh my God."

Brenda and Gabriel exchanged a quick glance at one another. She was clearly not a lead. It was obvious she had no idea. They wasted time having her come in. Brenda nodded to Gabriel and reached for her purse. "I'm sorry 'bout all this. If you have any information that could possibly help our case, please feel free to contact me." Brenda fished out a card from the recesses of her purse and handed it over to the broken down reporter.

"I will, I will." Jenna nodded, still in tears.

Brenda stepped out of the room and shook her head. This was not a lead. This was a waste of time. Who would kill Lexi Martin?

The clock was ticking.

…

Sharon Raydor picked up her ringing phone, while completing her signature on a recent LAPD audit of the traffic division. "Captain Raydor." She answered in to the phone, flipping the page of the audit.

"Sharon, I hope you're not beating yourself up about this afternoon."

Sharon sniffed and ceased reading the audit. She pulled off her glasses and wiped her forehead. "I'm trying not to." She set down her pen and settled back in her seat.

"You know you were an excellent mother. I was a shit father. If anything you should blame his behavior on me."

"I'm not going to do that, George." Sharon let a small smile grace her features. "I just don't know what to do with him. I can't keep…I can't keep covering for him like I do. I'm running out of money and I have my own mortgage to take care of and all the other bills."

"I know," George sighed.

"I'm fucking paying his child support." Sharon rolled her eyes.

"You know I can probably take on some of that," George suggested.

"We shouldn't take it on at all. We should cut him off and make him do it." Sharon hesitated at the end of her sentence.

"But…" George could hear it in her voice before she spoke.

Sharon sighed. "But I don't want to lose _him_."

George took a moment to consider this. "What did we do wrong?"

Sharon laughed, a wry, hurt, deflective laugh. "I have no idea."

…

"Chief, we got in to Lexi's computer." Sanchez glanced up from his desk.

Brenda was busy staring at the white board, littered with all things Lexi Martin. Nothing was adding up. Turning on her heels, she stared in Sanchez's direction. "Anything yet?"

"We're looking." Tao called back.

"This makes no sense." Brenda muttered under her breath.

"Okay, her e-mail was up," Tao spoke.

Brenda walked swiftly towards him, sliding her glasses on as she moved closer. She leaned over Tao's shoulder. "Anything?"

"Let's see…an e-mail from her mother," Tao hummed under his breath. "An e-mail from her sister….one from someone at her work."

"Click on it," Brenda nodded.

It was simply a schedule, a plan for the next day.

"Next," Brenda sighed, waiting for something, anything.

After thirty minutes of looking through e-mails, Brenda stood up. "Can you retrieve the deleted messages? Or maybe scan through the junk mail?"

"I will," Tao nodded.

Brenda glanced back at the board. Lexi's text messages had left no information either. Only a few texts between her co-workers and her family. She didn't even have a boyfriend to ask in. A boyfriend would have been a perfect lead for this. It would have been perfect for a boyfriend to be let in, without using force, and it could simply be domestic violence turned murder. But…no boyfriend existed.

"I want to talk to everyone at the station," Brenda announced. Obviously Lexi Martin knew her attacker. She'd let him or her in to her apartment. It had to be someone she saw every day, or at least someone she knew. She would start with work.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Brenda walked out of the interrogation room, more confused than she'd been going in. Tim Freeman had little information that was of interest other than that he'd been concerned when his colleague had not shown up for work. She was never late. She was punctual. She was smart. She would have called in the night before if she wasn't coming in.

"Chief, I think we have something of interest," Tao appeared from around the corner, motioning for Brenda to follow him.

"I hope this is somethin' to go on." Brenda pulled her glasses on and walked towards Tao's desk.

"We found an e-mail from an anonymous sender – it's obviously a fake e-mail – asking Lexi to meet at Howard's Café for the information she requested."

Brenda's brow furrowed as she stared at the e-mail. "Information? Hmm." Brenda took off her glasses and stared at Tao. "Can you track that ID…or IT or whatever it is you track and find who sent that e-mail?"

"We're on it."

"Flynn, Provenza, would you mind taking a trip to Howard's Café? Let's see if any of the employees remember the day when Lexi Martin came to visit with someone."

The two Lieutenants nodded and reached for their jackets. This was a lead, this was something.

…

It was well past midnight when Sharon heard her phone going off. She groaned and twisted, finding that she had been painfully sleeping on her arm. It hurt. She nearly missed the ringing phone because it took a few moments for her to wake up her arm.

"Captain Raydor," she answered, her voice hoarse with sleep.

"Captain, we have a…um…interesting crime scene."

"Interesting?" She frowned, recognizing that it was her Detective Kleve on the phone.

"A police officer shot at an unmarked FBI vehicle."

Sharon felt herself jolt awake. "Address."

…

Sharon swept her hair behind her ear and checked her face in the rearview mirror before stepping out of her car. This was an interesting crime scene, to be sure. She had a feeling that the two hours she'd slept would be the only two hours she'd get for a few days.

Her feet felt bare without her trusty heels, but since it was almost two in the morning she'd forgone the fancy footwear and had chosen some comfortable flats. She would be standing around the scene for the next few hours, questioning police officers and FBI agents alike. She really hoped Agent Howard was not involved in this matter.

"Capt'n Raydor," Chief Johnson's voice caught her off guard. But of course she would be on scene. This would be considered a major crime.

"Are we sharing the scene?" Sharon took a pair of gloves the blonde was holding out for her and began pulling them on, placing her clipboard beneath on arm to do so.

"'Fraid so." Brenda sighed.

"This has been quite an active time for major crimes." Sharon glanced in the Chief's direction, taking note of the bags beneath her eyes and the weary look on her face. "Agent Howard wasn't…"

Brenda shook her head. "No. Not involved."

Sharon glanced forward again and adjusted her trench coat. "Good." She nodded, looking ahead at the scene before her. People were swarming in and out of the white tent that surrounded the hidden crime scene. Sharon made note that Officer Lindenwold, the officer involved in the shooting, was leaning up against a police car, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes seemed distant as he answered questions being tossed at him.

"Have you been brought up to speed?" Brenda inquired.

"My detective informed me on the ride here." Sharon stopped walking and turned towards Brenda. "Do you have any key information I might want to know before I question Officer Lindenwold?"

Brenda stopped in her tracks and faced Sharon, her eyes continually darting over to her team who was questioning the officer as well as combing through the scene for clues. "He claims he was assigned to a detail which was protectin' the Mayor's office."

Sharon frowned. "So…he thought this unmarked FBI vehicle was threatening the Mayor in some way?"

"That's what he keeps claimin'." Brenda pulled off her glasses and rubbed her forehead.

"And he had no idea, what so ever, that this vehicle was an FBI vehicle?" Sharon crossed her arms after finding herself oddly unable to keep herself from reaching out and touching the Chief. This need was both surprising and entirely inappropriate at that moment.

"Well how could he know?" Brenda sighed. "It was unmarked."

"I was just double checking." Sharon pulled out her notebook and jotted down a few notes.

Brenda's hand came out and touched her arm, ever so slightly, catching Sharon off guard. "It's late…I didn't mean…"

Sharon just shook her head and stepped away from her. "I should go…question him."

Brenda nodded, worrying her lip and giving Sharon an unreadable look. Sharon frowned before stepping away from the tired blonde, hoping that she would tie up her loose ends quickly and get home for a few hours of sleep.

Sharon walked towards Officer Lindenwold; the sea of LAPD personnel seemed to step away as she approached. She extended her hand to the officer who blankly stared at it. "Captain Raydor, head of FID. Can you explain to me why you were here and why you shot at that vehicle?" Sharon's hand quickly fell and instead of shaking the officer's hand, she pulled out her notebook and looked in to the haunted eyes of the officer before her.

What was he hiding?

…

Sharon Raydor was at the hospital by five that morning. She felt her eyes fighting to stay open, and her head was beginning to hurt from lack of sleep. She sipped her coffee and glanced down the hallway. She needed to get in to speak with Agent Wilson. She needed to know what he knew.

Officer Lindenwold had been practically useless. He was being taken to a holding cell for the remainder of the evening. They would try again with him in the morning. He'd simply kept repeating that he hadn't realized it was the FBI, that he was simply trying to protect the Mayor. But from what? Why did the Mayor have a detail in place at this time?

Sharon knew Brenda would be talking with the Mayor in the morning. She had requested to be present at that meeting. She needed to know why Officer Lindenwold had been on such high alert that he'd shot in to a car.

"Captain Raydor?" A nurse stepped out of the room where Agent Wilson was lying, shot.

"Yes," Sharon stood up, at attention.

"Agent Wilson can talk to you, but please keep it brief." The nurse not so kindly eyed her down. But Sharon was too weary and tired to care what the nurse thought of her. She nodded politely and slid past her, relieved to find that the Agent was sitting up in bed and appeared to be fairly stable.

"Captain, so nice to see you at this hour of the night." He sarcastically quipped, adjusting painfully in the bed.

Sharon pressed her lips tightly together. "I'm sorry about your evening."

He shrugged. "At least I'm alive."

Sharon nodded. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about tonight?"

"I can try to tell you what I know, but I can't promise I can tell you everything." He sniffed and then looked like he was in pain again. It appeared he'd been shot in the shoulder, so his arm was in a sling. Sharon had to remind herself that even though she was having a late night, Agent Wilson was having a worse night.

"Did Officer Lindenwold want you dead?" Sharon pulled out her notebook, setting her coffee – which had gone cold – on a nearby surface as she did so.

Agent Wilson wrinkled his face. "I'm not sure I could answer that question."

Sharon inwardly groaned. "Were you aware of Officer Lindenwold's presence or his position as the Mayor's protector?"

He shook his head. "No, I can't say I was aware of any of that."

"What were you doing near town hall?" Sharon wisped a strand of hair behind her shoulder and leaned forward.

"Ah, something I might be able to answer." Agent Wilson reached for his cup of water with his good hand. It was a shaky hand, though, and he nearly spilled the water. Sharon got up and helped him. He thanked her, before she settled back in to the seat. "We've been conducting some inside audits on the Mayor and his staff's internet and account behavior."

Sharon frowned, "have there been discrepancies?"

"We had reason to believe there were."

"How long have you been investigating in to this matter?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that."

Sharon nodded. It would seem that this interview was probably going to get her nowhere. There was missing information, information that would greatly help her figure out why Officer Lindenwold shot at the car in the first place. But accounting discrepancies in the Mayor's office was a pretty good lead. At least it was something.

…

Brenda crossed her arms after pulling off her glasses. "I just don't understand, Mayor Williams." She rubbed her forehead.

The older, heavier man shifted in his leather seat, leaning forward. "I told you, Ms. Johnson…"

"Chief," Brenda turned on her heels, squarely facing the man.

He held her gaze before nodding, "_Chief_ Johnson, as I was saying, I had no knowledge that this…Officer Lindenwald…wold? was standing on the corner near town hall, nor do I know why he shot at that vehicle."

"Why do you have a security detail?" Sharon Raydor appeared in the doorway, looking like hell. Her hair was frizzy, her make-up slightly smudged, her heels clearly uncomfortable. Brenda felt a pull in her chest as the woman stepped inside, a pull that was very unfamiliar. She did a double take, catching questioning green eyes as she did so.

Brenda quickly looked away, putting her glasses back on and pulling out her notepad.

"Who…who are you?" The Mayor looked at the newly arrived woman, a look of confusion crossing his features.

"Captain Raydor. I'm with the Force Investigation Division and we're sharing this case with Major Crimes." Sharon informed him as she stepped – ne practically limped – towards the Mayor's desk. She extended her hand, but he rudely ignored it. Brenda frowned. She didn't like this man.

"To answer your question, Captain, I've been receiving some strange threats from the general public. I thought it was in my best interest to hire some security." He mindlessly signed something on his desk.

"Do you know why the public was threatenin' you?" Brenda tilted her head to the side and tried to meet his eyes, but it was obvious that the Mayor thought he was above both of these women.

The Mayor grunted and set down his pen, forcibly. "Listen, it is being investigated, but I will tell you I had nothing to do with it. And if you need any more information, I would prefer that my lawyer be present."

Brenda looked with disbelief at the pompous man before her. She exhaled, rather loudly, flipped her notepad closed and caught Sharon's eyes. She nodded for them to make their exit.

Sharon offered a quick goodbye, and Brenda tossed a near silent "thank you" in his direction, but the duo quickly left the office.

"Useless." Brenda muttered under her breath as they waited at the elevator bay of town hall.

"Tell me about it," Sharon pushed the down button a time too many on the elevator.

"You look exhausted," Brenda noted.

Sharon gave her a surprised, albeit sarcastic smile. "So do you."

Brenda returned the smile, wondering when she'd gotten over what seemed like an imaginary rivalry with this stunning brunette. They were acting almost like…friends. "Do you…do you want to grab some coffee before we head back?"

Sharon clutched her satchel in front of her body, shifting back and forth in an almost adorably shy way. It was in that moment that Brenda realized that perhaps Sharon's private, reserved façade was really a cover for shyness. She slid a strand of frizzy brown hair behind her ear and, looking rather thrown off by Brenda's suggestion, nodded. "I'd like that."

Brenda's smile – which had momentarily faded thinking that Sharon might say no – returned in full force. "Great. There's a nice little place around the corner. I'd offer to drive but…"

"No. We have two cars. I know the place you're talking about. I'll meet you there." Sharon let a small smile turn up the side of her lips.

…

"Do you have anything on the Lexi Martin case?" Sharon sipped her coffee and glanced over the top of her glasses at the blonde before her.

Brenda sighed and set down her cappuccino. "Nothin'." She exclaimed.

"Hmm, there has to be something more to it." Sharon frowned.

Brenda leaned forward, "if we could just figure out some kind of connection it would make things much easier."

"It's just like this fucking case." Sharon sighed, running her finger around the rim of her cup. Brenda's eyes flashed at the Captain's language. Sharon caught her eyes and looked almost ashamed. "Sorry, it's been a long night."

"No, no need to apologize," brown eyes sparkled as a smile crept its way across wide lips.

Sharon found herself smiling. Whisking a strand of hair behind her ear, Sharon looked down, sipping her coffee as if she needed something to busy her lips.

"But I agree with you," Brenda quickly brought them back to the issue at hand. "There's somethin' they're not tellin' us."

"I agree. I visited Agent Wilson this morning and he was particularly useless." Sharon sighed and leaned an elbow on the table to put her head in her hand, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me." Brenda playfully nudged Sharon's leg with her heeled toe.

Sharon stifled a yawn, ignoring the pleasant sensation that surged through her body upon contact. "I'll try not to." Her cell phone started to ring just then, interrupting this rare moment of easy friendship. Picking up her phone, she frowned at the name flashing across the screen. "I have to take this."

Brenda nodded, "I'll see you back at the office," she collected up her belongings. Sharon wanted to tell her that she didn't need to leave, but she also knew this phone call could only mean one thing. She had to let her go. She wondered why she almost felt sad watching the blonde exit the café.

"Hello," Sharon brushed off the strange feeling that had overcome her and listened intently.

"You'll never guess what our son has done." George's unamused voice sounded on the other end.

"Oh God, do I want to know?" Sharon rubbed her forehead.

"He wrecked his car." George sighed.

"Was he drunk?" Sharon's voice was near a whisper. She wanted to cry. She'd just bought that fucking car for him.

George paused on the other end of the line, "no, I don't think so. He took a wide turn and ran in to a car. The car is totaled."

"Oh fuck me." Sharon breathed in to the phone. "I don't…I don't have time to deal with this."

"I know; I'll take care of it. I just thought you'd like to know."

"Thanks for telling me." She wanted to kill him. He was irresponsible, stupid, childish, and a mess. How had she raised this child? How had she allowed him to become this person? All of her other children had turned out just fine. What had gone wrong with her Gregory?


End file.
